In 1864, Camden became the unintended focus of the Red River Campaign, a major Civil War effort resulting in several significant battles.

The explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673 and René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in 1682 established French claims to the land they called Louisiana, which included what would become Camden, and found the Quapaw living at the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers.

The Quapaw claimed the territory that included this part of the Ouachita basin, but it was also influenced by both Caddo trade and culture.

French hunters, trappers, and traders, who were drawn to the area by the abundant game, later established a rendezvous point on the high bluff above the crossing.

After about two years, he decided to move downriver to the more central site of Prairie des Canots, present-day Monroe, Louisiana.

[5] By 1819, Jesse Bowman, of future Alamo fame, was living at Ecore a Fabri, while the Tate brothers—Andrew, Richard, and George—came up the Ouachita on keelboats.

Steamboats arrived at Ecore a Fabri in the 1820s and provided it with a direct link to the cotton and commercial markets in New Orleans.

Ecore a Fabri was chosen as the county seat, and its name was changed to Camden at the suggestion of one of the commissioners, Thomas Woodward.

It was a mercantile center and a bustling river port served by frequent scheduled steamboats carrying passengers and freight.

Chidester's company carried the United States Mail from Memphis to Fort Smith for the Butterfield stage line.

[6] During the Civil War, Camden was the focus of U.S. Army general Frederick Steele’s Red River Campaign of 1864.

Steele moved south of Little Rock toward Shreveport, Louisiana, but got only as far as Camden, which he occupied while the Confederates pulled back to defend Washington, Arkansas.

After losing the engagement at Poison Spring and the action at Marks’ Mill, Steele had little choice but to retreat toward Little Rock.

In 1927, the International Paper Company built a processing mill at Camden, following development of south Arkansas' lumber industry.

During World War II, Camden was home to one of Arkansas's three contract training fields for primary pilots in the United States Army Air Forces.

In the 1990s, post Cold War downsizing of the defense industry brought severe job losses—and resulting population decline—to the Camden area.

In recent years, however, a partial resurgence of defense contracts and the development of a diversified mixture of small business and professional activity have stabilized the town's economy.

Camden was the home of Buckshot Smith (1929-2024) who was America's oldest active duty police officer from 2020 until he retired in 2023.

[19] Built in 1847 by local merchant Peter McCollum, the house was purchased by John T. Chidester in 1857 and was used as a way station on his stage line.